As you may have read in the last two posts, I'm doing a 2 in 2. Writing 2 novels in October and November, finishing the current WIP in October so I have a sense were the sequel I'm writing for NaNoWriMo will be going. The day after I signed up for NaNo, I hit and went above my daily #writegoal word count of 3k, but since then I haven't been able to get to 2k or higher. The problem with this is I don't know how long either novel is supposed to be, and I need to finish this WIP before November.

But I haven't been meeting my #writegoals.

A combination of things have been to blame - sleep problems, my ADHD meds wearing off too soon or kicking in when I'm doing something other than writing, distractions a la Twitter, and areas in the story that I only have a vague idea of have all contributed to the lack of prolific words. This makes me angry at myself, because unlike most other writers, I don't have a job or kids, so I devote my days to writing. My current word count doesn't reflect this, unfortunately.

I wrote my first draft - admittedly so riddled with plot holes it couldn't even stand for its mommy - in 29 days, all of it in longhand. I knew afterwards it wouldn't work, and I began a total rewrite. So while I know I can get the bones down for my story before NaNo, I know I can't do it longhand this time - I need to be able to go look back at previous scenes to ensure I'm not causing unnecessary problems. Scrivener (only for Mac at the moment) is a godsend, and has helped me keep up what little momentum I've been having.

But.

All the excuses in the world won't add words to my WIP, and so I just have to put on my Big Girl Panties and hunker in for the long haul, which is scarily short in time.

I need words, and Write or Die by Dr Wicked is saving my writing. Tomorrow I go to visit my in-laws, which means we'll be playing games, having fun, chatting. So today I need to get 6k words down, 3k for today, 3k for tomorrow. I'm doing this by going for 1k intervals on Write or Die, not worrying about cleaning up the scenes until I've gotten all 6k out. This is good. My meds start tapering off after 1pm, so getting the words out now and cleaning them during the distraction phase is better for me. I can edit in short bursts, but I prefer to write for long periods of time.

This is working so wonderfully, I plan to implement this tactic for all my writing here on out, unless something prevents me from doing so. The Concentrate app for Mac, which blocks other apps, websites, and the like, is good, but I can still find ways to amuse myself away from my writing. With Write or Die, particularly in Kamikaze mode, it forces me to just GO, just write what pops in my head. More often than not, its the best way to take the story forward, and the ways my characters had been wanting to go anyways, if I'd listen more.

So, now I'm off for another round of Write or Die. I suggest you at least try it out too. Let me know what you think. ;)